Health and happiness: two important elements to living a fulfilling life. In my opinion, the two are intertwined; you can’t have happiness without good health, and you can’t have good health without happiness. Both elements lean on one another to help you live a well-balanced life.

While many agree and believe that happiness and a good spirit are important to living a healthy lifestyle, there’s actually scientific data that backs up that belief. Here are just a few examples of how happiness plays a role in your overall health:

Your Heart
Hearts are oftentimes used as a symbol of happiness and love, and funny enough, when it comes to your actual heart, happiness does actually have an effect on it! When we are happy, our heart rate and blood pressure level decrease to a normal level. It also lowers your risk of cardiovascular diseases. 

Your Immune System
Research shows that happiness can help reduce your risk of getting a cold. In fact, a recent survey showed that the least happy people were almost three times as likely to develop the common cold compared to those who were the happiest. This just shows that your attitude can in fact play a role in your immune system! 

Arthritis
Arthritis, a condition that can cause stiff joints due to inflammation and degeneration, is painful and tends to get worse over time. While there are many ways to treat the symptoms of this condition, one lesser known way is by living a happy lifestyle and embodying the human spirit. Studies have found that a positive well-being may reduce the pain associated with arthritis.

The human spirit is quite impressive, and these are just a few ways to highlight that. If you want to know more about how happiness impacts the health of a person in real life, head over to Kelly Turner’s Radical Remission Docuseries to learn more.